I'm looking forward to more of Ricciardo and Bottas. After the start at Monza where Bottas was swamped and Ricciardo also lost a couple spots they were 11th (Bot) and 12th (Ric) and finished 4th & 5th (same order). I think Ricciardo and his passing got more coverage but they were both impressive. Plus all they need to do (and maybe Vettel and/or Massa) is split the Mercs on the podium a couple times and the results and points battle won't only be all about whether the Merc boys are racing each other at the front. I'm still bothered about the double points race idea. No one important will ever read this, nor would they care, but here's what I would replace it with. Drop the double points. For the last race, pull all the fuel-flow restrictors. Let them keep the monitors but lift the flow rate restriction and the max fuel use restriction. Still no refueling allowed, just no restriction on how much fuel is used or how quickly they burn it. Just one race like that. If it's the last race, no one would be worried about penalties the next race if they use up a power unit component. There would be no precedent in previous races so teams might choose different ways to roll the dice. The leaders, if they still need to worry at all about how many points they take in that race, might not take any chances, but then other teams might turn up the power and upset the applecart. Most important of all, we might see a few instances, though limited in number and duration due to the size of the fuel tanks, where drivers would finally get to use higher revs and more power. Even Bernie would probably still be happy because of the promise of extra spectacle and he could still get the more well off circuits to willingly bid extra to host the last race.
Senna told Stewart that he was a racer racing to win, so that going for the spot is his job and what he does... Dale Sr put it simpler: "lead, follow or get the flock out of the way." I agree.
Can't have it both ways, if it was wrong for Rosberg to take out Hammy by clipping his wheel, then it's equally wrong for Earnhardt to put his front fender against someone's quarter panel and spin them out to win also......which he did more than a few times.....
I never said Rosberg did anything wrong on purpose.... One difference in him and Senna is that Senna would never have appeased the powers at be at MB with an insincere apology for racing, even if it might help to move things on and off the subject.. and as for Dale, he would have told Lewis to put his big boy pants on and take to the track...
Big difference in the series too--I think you CAN have it both ways. You do that in NASCAR, it's not a penalty, if you're trying to win a race. Only if you're intentionally wrecking someone as payback is it an issue, and even then it's usually nothing more than a warning. You do that in F1, or even Indy league, and you're looking at serious trouble. You obviously can't bump and grind in open wheel racing like you can in NASCAR. It's like comparing soccer and rugby; the series are that different.
Haas F1 to become Ferrari's Torro Rosso? Haas F1 Team on course to be Ferrari B-team in F1 (grandprix247.com)
Frankly I'm tired of Patrick, but with her background this would be in her wheelhouse, and probably the route she should have gone way back when instead of the IRL. But Busch is intriguing--he looked like everything he wasn't in NASCAR, once he wrecked in practice and obtained a new respect for the car--he was patient, drove within himself, and markedly improved as the race went on--it was a phenomenal performance. He does a fair amount of road course testing on the side, it would be huge step up, but with time I think he'd have a chance of success (although age is not in his favor), IF, and it's a big IF, he takes the approach he did at Indy. He seems to have mellowed quite a bit, and may have the temperament at this point in his life to pull it off. Either way, it would be fun to watch.
Danica never has been a road racer, her one victory in CART was on an oval and she backed into that. She also doesn't fair all that well amongst the left only boys in NASCAR when they go road racing... For Haas to put her in any car in F1 is crazy, and to put her in a car on a new team with no experience would be downright stupid and dangerous for all involved....
Danica's strongest races were on ovals in Indy cars. She didn't do well in road course races. Is F1 going to the Monza oval? Mentioning Danica makes sponsors sit up & take notice. That could be the main reason she has been mentioned. I like Danica, but don't think she will be more than a mid field runner in NASCAP. In F1 who knows.
Danica cut her teeth in Formula Ford, and was showing promise before she jumped too soon to the IRL. Personally I think road courses are more suited to her style than ovals. She did fantastic at Road America a couple of years ago, a tough road course, and had a legitimate chance of winning it against proven world class road track specialists (better than what's in NASCAR), ringers specifically brought in for a one-off nationwide race, until she hit a shoe and blew her suspension. It was by far the best race I've seen her run in any series; she actually looked like she belonged. I think she'd be more successful long-term in an open wheel road racing then either open wheel oval or stock car racing. If you check her road racing results against her oval results in the Sprint cup, on average, she does slightly better in the road races. And that's deceiving, because it's harder to do better in the road races, as there are ringers brought in just for one race too. In other words, the back of the pack, which she usually is racing against, is much stronger at Sonoma and Watkins Glenn than it is on the ovals. It would take her time to get up to speed in F1, but long-term, I think that's the better series for her IF she did it the right way. I don't ever see her as a top 15 driver in NASCAR, she'll struggle to be top 20, it's not her bag. I could see that happening in F1. I honestly don't think she'd do worse than what she's done in NASCAR. Either way she's shown she'll go where the money is, rather than going the route that's going to make her the best driver she can possibly be. She did it when she jumped too soon into the IRL, and did it again when she jumped too soon into full time Sprint Cup, when another year or two of Nationwide would have been the most logical route if she REALLY wanted to do it right.
I think the only thing Danica Patrick has going for her re F1 is she's small, short and light. That's not saying much for her, sounds pretty critical, but I think it's true. As has been mentioned, she hasn't shown much prowess on road courses, though maybe she did well on them in junior series', I have no idea. Not saying she's a lousy driver. She'd do better in F1 than I would and, let's face it, probably anyone reading this, but there's a lot of stronger road course talent available. If I remember right, Haas said he hopes to hire one driver who already has current F1 experience and, if he can make it work, an American as the junior driver. I assume the experienced driver would be someone cheap who is let go or otherwise available after either this season or next...fingers crossed it isn't Maldonado. EDIT: Posted too soon...I stand corrected, perhaps, re Danica's road course potential.
I watched her run Atlantics (intead of FF?) and she was fast and a hard charger....I think the only reason she went to NASCAR was the cubic dollars she's making, can't blame her for that. I agree, I hope it's not Maldonado......if they want a female there are a number of good female drivers - Simona de Silvestro or even Suzy Wolff would be good choices......
I'm not a Danica hater, in fact I support her racing. Yes she was good in the junior formulas, but F1 is as far from a junior formula as you can get. Haas needs a driver who has recent experience in open wheel racing. That's not Danica at this time. I think that ship has sailed for her.
I don't hate Danica either, I just think Susie's better qualified at this time. She's been a development driver for F1 for a couple years now, and I think she deserves a shot. I don't think she's world champion caliber, but I could be wrong. She'd have to leave Williams though, I don't think they'll want to give up either of their drivers for her, unless the three-car rumor is true.
She's not ready to jump straight to F1, I'm not suggesting that, she's nowhere near that caliber. She'd have to run in one of the lower series first, which I SERIOUSLY doubt she'll ever do. That's my whole issue with her--she showed promise early, she raced against future F1 drivers in Formula Ford, and held her own--then instead of taking the tough road, the natural progression, jumped at the IRL chance before she was ready, basically going from High School to the Pros without going to college. There aren't that many Lebron James's in any sport..... Yeah, I know I'm being judgemental, many others would have taken that opportunity, but it's not the way to go if you really want to do it right. We'll never know how good she could have been, but I'm not sure that was ever her primary motivation. When it's all said and done, I'd rather have seen Sarah Fisher get the opportunites Danica had (although she's doing fairly well as an owner), I'd love to see Johanna Long get another shot, she's been kind of shoved to the side with little chance at another ride. I think she could have been more successful in F1 than any of the other series. It would be interesting to see her give it a go, but I suspect, just like for Kurt Busch, it's too late for that.
Yes Danica was fast in Atlantics. Thanks for the reminder Dave. I think Suzie Wollf, Simona de Silvestro or Kathrin Legg would be very good choices.